Pakistan prisoner fights for life after being beaten in Indian jail

A Pakistani prisoner is in a critical condition after being beaten with a
hammer by a fellow inmate in an Indian prison.

Indian activists pose with pictures of late Sarabjit Singh as they pay tribute to him in Kolkata. An Indian man on death row in Pakistan for spying died nearly a week after he was attacked by fellow prisoners, who were swiftly charged with murder as New Delhi demanded justicePhoto: AFP/GETTY

The attack appears to have been in revenge for the murder of Sarabjit Singh, a convicted "spy" beaten with bricks last week in a Lahore jail.

The Pakistani victim was reportedly set upon by a former Indian soldier in Jammu prison following a heated argument over the murder of Singh.

The victim, known as Sanaullah, is believed to be serving a life sentenced for acts of terrorism in 1999.

He has been admitted to Jammu's General Medical College Hospital where he is being treated sfor serious head injuries. A senior doctor there told The Daily Telegraph: "He is in a critical condition and has been put on ventilator in an ICU. He has received serious injuries on his head and is in a coma.

"We are trying to our best but he might be shifted to a specialised hospital for advanced treatment. As of now, chances of survival are slim."

One prison official said Sanaullah had been attacked with an axe. “He has been attacked by a shovel or a pick axe on his head. The jail staff including the superintendent has been suspended and an investigation is on. There are around 70 Pakistani prisoners in the jail,” he said.

The alleged attacker is believed to be a former Indian soldier serving a life term for murder.

The attack further increased tensions between India and Pakistan as Singh's family prepared to cremate his body in his home village in Punjab today.

His murder in Pakistani custody has provoked fury in India where senior political leaders, including the home minister and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, have met with his relatives to express their condolences. The prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh denounced his murder as a "barbaric" act and paid tribute to the victim as a "brave son of India."

Sarabjit Singh was arrested in 1990 and sentenced to death for spying and terrorist bombings in Lahore and Faisalabad in which 14 people were killed.

His family denied the charges and said he had strayed across the border into Pakistan while drunk.

Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi has called on India's Ministry of External Affairs to provide more details of the attack, while the Superintendant of Jammu jail, in Jammu and Kashmir, has been suspended.

Security for Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails was increased yesterday following the death of Sarabjit Singh.

Pakistan's human rights campaigner, who lobbied for Sarabjit Singh to be released last year, called for the victim to be released and returned to Pakistan for treatment.

"[The] Ansar Burney Trust requested with Pakistan Governmentt to contact India to bring Sanaullah, in serious condition after attack on him in Indian Jail," he said.